There are many ways to keep your kids safe while surfing the net. The best way of course is to sit with your kids while they are online and supplemented by strict guidelines on the "do's and don'ts of using the internet". However, even if you have done both of these, your kids will still try to sneak out from you and access bad sites and do things online that are included on your don't list...
That is if you don't use a web filtering software.
What is a web filtering software?
A web filtering software is a computer program that lets you take control of the traffic happening on your computer. Since the internet is two way traffic (data comes from the web to your computer and vice versa), the web filtering software can block the entry of data from the web and block the request of the computer user to go through the web.
This way, internet-based treats in the forms of pornography, graphic images of violence, explicit content, sex, nudity, online sexual and financial predators, viruses, and spyware will have to pass through the security wall you setup with the web filtering software. If the sites or data requested are considered banned, the access won't go through.
Some popular web filtering softwares are Norton Internet Security, Cybersitter, NetNanny, CyberPatrol, K9 Web Protection, and ContentBarried (OS MAC).
What specific security features are included in a web filtering software?
Take note that different web filtering softwares have different features so it is important to choose the right software that fits your security requirements.
Why is web filtering websites effective in keeping your kids safe while using the internet?
It keeps your kids from opening ...
?websites and IP addresses you have blocked, ?predetermined programs such as instant messaging and chat rooms, ?pornographic sites, and ?websites with spyware and viruses.
It keeps your kids from downloading...
?files from illegal sites, ?using p2p programs, and ?email attachments.
And most of all, it keeps you in control.
Online predators are people who exploit vulnerable internet users particularly kids for sexual and financial purposes. Although they can come from all over the web, they often use chat rooms or instant messaging to lure kids.
Since you can't sit with your kids to monitor personally their online activity, you should do certain things that will ensure the safety of your kids and protect them from online predators.
Here are those:
Teach your kids about the value of privacy. They should know that personal information such as name, address, school, age, birthday, and credit card number should be kept secret especially from strangers they meet online.
Talk to your kids about the dangers of engaging in private chats. If they use instant messaging and enter chat rooms, encourage them to not add names of people they don't know. Also encourage them stay on public rooms so that the arbiter or chat administrator can monitor the conversation. Tell your kids to ignore private messages.
Tell them not to open emails from unknown senders, download unsolicited attachments, and reply to spam.
Discourage them from using websites where they can post their profile that can be viewed publicly. MySpace for one has received great attention from online predators since this site is open and any information posted can be used against the user.
Tell them to avoid giving their personal email addresses to strangers. Also, tell your kids to avoid giving their email addresses in forms of registration, contests, and surveys. Although some of the sites offering these are relatively safe, online predators can have the access to these websites through programs such as crawlers, bots, and spiders. These programs collect email addresses from the web which will be added to their mailing list.
Keep your computer in open areas where you can easily see it - outside your kids' bedroom.
And, set rules about personally meeting online friends. This should include telling you about the scheduled meeting and your presence on the actual meeting. Keep an open communication between you and your kids to make sure that they don't hide this information from you.